Address Bar, Change Font & other new features in Registry Editor on Windows 10

Microsoft has introduced two main new features in the Registry Editor in Windows 10 v1703 – one, an Address Bar that allows you to quickly jump to any registry key, and two, the ability to change fonts. The Windows Registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the operating system for Microsoft Windows. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, users, preferences of the PC, etc.

Address Bar in Windows Registry

The new Address Bar allows a power user to easily see his current registry key path, and copy it if needed. It now also becomes easier to jump to any Registry Key. You no longer have to manually navigate to the key. You can simply copy-paste the known path in the address bar and hit Enter.

The address bar resembles the address bar found in File Explorer. The main benefit of using obviously is that fact that it gives users easier navigation options when they want to search something relevant in registry settings and directly jump to it as it allows you to readily paste the address and navigate to it quickly. But you cannot use the address bar in the Registry editor to carry out keyword searches. You will have to use Ctrl+F or Edit > Find box still.

You also have the option to hide the address bar from view. To do so, click on the ‘View’ tab adjacent to ‘Edit’ under Registry Editor window and click on ‘Address Bar’ option to simply hide the bar from the view.

Rather than typing the full address HKEY_Classes_Root….. in full, you can also simply type HKCR. Below is the list of the available shortcuts:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE: HKLM

HKEY_Classes_Root: HKCR

HKEY_USERS: HKU

HKEY_CURRENT_USER: HKCU

You can use CTRL+L or ALT+D keyboard shortcut to set focus on the address bar and quickly get to a location. You don’t need to use any 3rd-party software now. Windows 8/7 users can use these freeware or a VBScript or a Batch Script to

Anand Khanse is the Admin of TheWindowsClub.com, a 10-year Microsoft MVP Awardee in Windows (2006-16) & a Windows Insider MVP. Please read the entire post & the comments first, create a System Restore Point before making any changes to your system & be careful about any 3rd-party offers while installing freeware.